Music Trade Review
Issue: 1919 Vol. 68 N. 16 - Page 13
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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
APRIL 19, 1919
elation can be developed the fabric of the argument suitable for
whatever occasion may arise.
There is often heard the descriptive phrase "appealing in its
simplicity" and there is much truth in such a description. In any
discussion involving persuasion into action there must always be a
starting point at which the mind of the subject is aroused or startled
into attention. Once this is accomplished, argument is needed to
lead this germ of thought along a course which will ultimately end
in the action you desire, i. e., the sale of goods. This starting point
is where the matter of appeal comes in. Once there is offered an
idea which appeals to the prospect, it is a comparatively easy matter
to secure the result you desire.
But in using this appeal there is chance for much serious thought
and consideration, for it is imperative to make a right beginning.
()nce a false start is made, the task of persuasion is almost hopeless,
for one of the hardest things a salesman has to do is to overcome
the false impression created by an ill-chosen first step. Above all
things, make the primary appeal simple, especially in the case of
prospects who may not have had the best opportunities of education
and training. For such people simplicity of appeal is the only way
by which the salesman can hope to succeed. It requires a great
deal of tact, and a wealth of human understanding to talk to the
poor or uneducated man about his own family affairs, and make
him see his need for music in the home, without making him hostile
to your efforts.
Reach such a man by appealing to the simple, elementary things
—his love for his children, his ambitions to succeed in the world
and his desire to have a better home for his family. Show him the
advantages music will bring his children, for every father wants to
give his children the best he can, especially if in his own early days
he was deprived of many of the things that make for the best in
life and living.
Ambition is in every heart, and it is often possible to interest the
(Salesmanship)
13
poor man by showing him how his home may be made more attrac-
tive and more like rich men's homes through the addition of a
beautiful piano or player-piano which he can secure without any
serious strain on his finances. It is often possible to make such a
suggestion in a way that will flatter his vanity a little and he will
begin to feel that thrill of pride which the possession of an attractive
home would bring.
Simplicity of appeal is not to be confined to the prospects of the
above class alone. It is obvious that an argument which would
appeal to an uneducated man would be understood even more
clearly by the man of higher education. In this latter case, however,
this simple idea should be expanded and enlarged and other argu-
ments introduced to amplify the central thought. But this would
not detract from the fact that the main idea is simplicity of appeal,
for the successful man does not care for long, labored discussions of
the merit of this instrument or that. What he wants are the facts
and he welcomes a presentation that is clear and concise and easily
understood without special concentration of thought. When he
comes to buy an instrument, or if you are seeking to make him
realize his need for one, he does not care to consider a problem of
statistics and cant phrases. He appreciates simplicity of argument
for the very reason that he understands it more thoroughly. Because
the salesman sees in a prospect of this kind a better intellect, he
should not make the fatal mistake of trying to complicate his
methods of argument; for in doing so he courts defeat. If he sticks
to the simple methods he will not only command the respect of the
prospect but he will secure the business as well.
It is a safe policy to hold to simplicity of appeal and salesmen
will find it well worth their while to follow out this idea in their
work. The elementary natures of men are very much the same
throughout the world, and simplicity combined with the saving
grace of a little common sense and judgment will spell success for
the salesman in any line of trade, and especially in the piano business.
Developing Selling Ability in the Young Salesman
Piano Merchants Can Increase the Efficiency of Their Staffs and Do a Valuable
Work for the Entire Industry by Helping the Young Salesman to Make Good
and also disproved, that all good salesmen are
I T has l;orn been and claimed,
not made. In spite of the fact that experience has
shown that most men of intelligence and will power can be made into
capable salesmen, far too many business men in the piano trade still
cling to the belief that they want a ready-made salesman. They do
not stop to consider that good men are not drifting around in the
world; if they are good men, someone has them already in his cm-
ploy, or else they are themselves employing others.
Success in any line is nearly always the result of training and
experience, although it is true that in a limited number of cases cer-
tain men have greatness thrust upon them. But in the matter of
salesmanship the goal is seldom reached without years of training.
This training should be given by the men who are trying to build up
tlicir business upon a solid foundation with an eye for the future,
and if such men would take into their industries young men just
entering the world of business and train them in the duties of their
profession the result would be astonishing in its increased prosperity.
The practice of taking a new man and sending him out to try his
hand on the poorest of your prospects is worse than putting the cart
before the horse. If you have an idea that this is the way to test a
man's ability as a salesman, you are indeed beginning at the wrong
end. It may be one way to test him for stubborn tenacity, but as a
proof of salesmanship it is utterly useless. More than one ambitious
young man, who has been sent out by his employer on just such an
errand, has given up in disgust before he had a chance to get started.
Under the mistaken methods of his employer he Was never given an
opportunity to show his possibilities.
Piano salesmanship is a business of refinement, and young men
of education and culture are naturally attracted to it unless they have
been discouraged by the ill-chosen methods of some thoughtless em-
ployer. There is a fascination in the work, for it calls forth the pow-
ers of persuasion by which one man gains his point over another.
77/ie pestknou)n
musical name
m t/ie Wor/d.
PIANOS
Persuasive powers in a piano salesman are essential because there is
no hard and fast rule by which the layman can select any particular
kind of instrument, for to him a piano is a piano, and he knows very
little about the technical qualities of one make against another. For
this very reason it is necessary for the salesman to bring about the
sale by means of his powers of persuasion.
Just as it is necessary to have confidence in yourself before
others will have faith in you, so the piano salesman must have con-
fidence and enthusiasm in the article he is selling in order to persuade
his prospect. This confidence cannot be had without knowledge, nor
the knowledge without experience. 1 f the piano merchant would
take his prospective salesmen and put them to work at the bottom of
his business and advance them through the various branches- froin
time to time he would develop salesmen who would have a compre-
hensive knowledge of the instrument and would be able to ^answer
with authority any question put to them by a prospect.
Once the budding salesman is launched upon his career he
should not be left to his own resources, but should have the advice,
co-operation and association of those who have been successful in
that field. In this way he receives encouragement, guidance and the
benefit of what others have learned, lie has the advantage of being
able to profit by the mistakes of others, and is prevented from com-
mitting those errors again. He develops a love for his work, an en-
thusiasm that grows with the years and a satisfaction from the
knowledge of work well done, and all this as the result of a little care
and consideration on the pant of men who are interested enough to
look out for the welfare of others who are trying to climb the ladder
of success after them.
Secretiveness is inherent in all men to a greater or less degree,
but in the world of business there are times when it does not pay to
hide one's light under a bushel. In other words, co-operation is the
answer to the question of how to succeed in the selling field.
ORGANS
E5TEY PIAND COMPANY - HEW YORK CITY-
*c7fze Pest pro/it
prodttcerfortfie
dealer miheTrade.
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
APRIL 19, 1919
elation can be developed the fabric of the argument suitable for
whatever occasion may arise.
There is often heard the descriptive phrase "appealing in its
simplicity" and there is much truth in such a description. In any
discussion involving persuasion into action there must always be a
starting point at which the mind of the subject is aroused or startled
into attention. Once this is accomplished, argument is needed to
lead this germ of thought along a course which will ultimately end
in the action you desire, i. e., the sale of goods. This starting point
is where the matter of appeal comes in. Once there is offered an
idea which appeals to the prospect, it is a comparatively easy matter
to secure the result you desire.
But in using this appeal there is chance for much serious thought
and consideration, for it is imperative to make a right beginning.
()nce a false start is made, the task of persuasion is almost hopeless,
for one of the hardest things a salesman has to do is to overcome
the false impression created by an ill-chosen first step. Above all
things, make the primary appeal simple, especially in the case of
prospects who may not have had the best opportunities of education
and training. For such people simplicity of appeal is the only way
by which the salesman can hope to succeed. It requires a great
deal of tact, and a wealth of human understanding to talk to the
poor or uneducated man about his own family affairs, and make
him see his need for music in the home, without making him hostile
to your efforts.
Reach such a man by appealing to the simple, elementary things
—his love for his children, his ambitions to succeed in the world
and his desire to have a better home for his family. Show him the
advantages music will bring his children, for every father wants to
give his children the best he can, especially if in his own early days
he was deprived of many of the things that make for the best in
life and living.
Ambition is in every heart, and it is often possible to interest the
(Salesmanship)
13
poor man by showing him how his home may be made more attrac-
tive and more like rich men's homes through the addition of a
beautiful piano or player-piano which he can secure without any
serious strain on his finances. It is often possible to make such a
suggestion in a way that will flatter his vanity a little and he will
begin to feel that thrill of pride which the possession of an attractive
home would bring.
Simplicity of appeal is not to be confined to the prospects of the
above class alone. It is obvious that an argument which would
appeal to an uneducated man would be understood even more
clearly by the man of higher education. In this latter case, however,
this simple idea should be expanded and enlarged and other argu-
ments introduced to amplify the central thought. But this would
not detract from the fact that the main idea is simplicity of appeal,
for the successful man does not care for long, labored discussions of
the merit of this instrument or that. What he wants are the facts
and he welcomes a presentation that is clear and concise and easily
understood without special concentration of thought. When he
comes to buy an instrument, or if you are seeking to make him
realize his need for one, he does not care to consider a problem of
statistics and cant phrases. He appreciates simplicity of argument
for the very reason that he understands it more thoroughly. Because
the salesman sees in a prospect of this kind a better intellect, he
should not make the fatal mistake of trying to complicate his
methods of argument; for in doing so he courts defeat. If he sticks
to the simple methods he will not only command the respect of the
prospect but he will secure the business as well.
It is a safe policy to hold to simplicity of appeal and salesmen
will find it well worth their while to follow out this idea in their
work. The elementary natures of men are very much the same
throughout the world, and simplicity combined with the saving
grace of a little common sense and judgment will spell success for
the salesman in any line of trade, and especially in the piano business.
Developing Selling Ability in the Young Salesman
Piano Merchants Can Increase the Efficiency of Their Staffs and Do a Valuable
Work for the Entire Industry by Helping the Young Salesman to Make Good
and also disproved, that all good salesmen are
I T has l;orn been and claimed,
not made. In spite of the fact that experience has
shown that most men of intelligence and will power can be made into
capable salesmen, far too many business men in the piano trade still
cling to the belief that they want a ready-made salesman. They do
not stop to consider that good men are not drifting around in the
world; if they are good men, someone has them already in his cm-
ploy, or else they are themselves employing others.
Success in any line is nearly always the result of training and
experience, although it is true that in a limited number of cases cer-
tain men have greatness thrust upon them. But in the matter of
salesmanship the goal is seldom reached without years of training.
This training should be given by the men who are trying to build up
tlicir business upon a solid foundation with an eye for the future,
and if such men would take into their industries young men just
entering the world of business and train them in the duties of their
profession the result would be astonishing in its increased prosperity.
The practice of taking a new man and sending him out to try his
hand on the poorest of your prospects is worse than putting the cart
before the horse. If you have an idea that this is the way to test a
man's ability as a salesman, you are indeed beginning at the wrong
end. It may be one way to test him for stubborn tenacity, but as a
proof of salesmanship it is utterly useless. More than one ambitious
young man, who has been sent out by his employer on just such an
errand, has given up in disgust before he had a chance to get started.
Under the mistaken methods of his employer he Was never given an
opportunity to show his possibilities.
Piano salesmanship is a business of refinement, and young men
of education and culture are naturally attracted to it unless they have
been discouraged by the ill-chosen methods of some thoughtless em-
ployer. There is a fascination in the work, for it calls forth the pow-
ers of persuasion by which one man gains his point over another.
77/ie pestknou)n
musical name
m t/ie Wor/d.
PIANOS
Persuasive powers in a piano salesman are essential because there is
no hard and fast rule by which the layman can select any particular
kind of instrument, for to him a piano is a piano, and he knows very
little about the technical qualities of one make against another. For
this very reason it is necessary for the salesman to bring about the
sale by means of his powers of persuasion.
Just as it is necessary to have confidence in yourself before
others will have faith in you, so the piano salesman must have con-
fidence and enthusiasm in the article he is selling in order to persuade
his prospect. This confidence cannot be had without knowledge, nor
the knowledge without experience. 1 f the piano merchant would
take his prospective salesmen and put them to work at the bottom of
his business and advance them through the various branches- froin
time to time he would develop salesmen who would have a compre-
hensive knowledge of the instrument and would be able to ^answer
with authority any question put to them by a prospect.
Once the budding salesman is launched upon his career he
should not be left to his own resources, but should have the advice,
co-operation and association of those who have been successful in
that field. In this way he receives encouragement, guidance and the
benefit of what others have learned, lie has the advantage of being
able to profit by the mistakes of others, and is prevented from com-
mitting those errors again. He develops a love for his work, an en-
thusiasm that grows with the years and a satisfaction from the
knowledge of work well done, and all this as the result of a little care
and consideration on the pant of men who are interested enough to
look out for the welfare of others who are trying to climb the ladder
of success after them.
Secretiveness is inherent in all men to a greater or less degree,
but in the world of business there are times when it does not pay to
hide one's light under a bushel. In other words, co-operation is the
answer to the question of how to succeed in the selling field.
ORGANS
E5TEY PIAND COMPANY - HEW YORK CITY-
*c7fze Pest pro/it
prodttcerfortfie
dealer miheTrade.
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